A business of ideas  ( May '31,2007, HBL)

Ironically, no out-of-the-box thinking for this strategic creative company. I.Gen believes in searching for ideas within the box and possibly break the box in the process. I.Gen shatters the myth that creative hot shops cannot be strategic partners for businesses. This Bangalore-based ideas firm has partnered with some of the big names in retail (Titan, Tanishq, Café Coffe Day, The Future Group) to offer creative solutions in HR, visual merchandising and communication exercises. The solutions encompass graphic design, films, television and radio content, human resources, training, retail and software and events. As Rajesh Vorkady, Director, I.Gen, says, "They are as profiting to our clients as they are fun for us to solve."

Take the instance of a leading multinational technology company that asked I.Gen to design merchandise to give away to prospective employees during a huge recruitment drive. "Most companies end up giving pens or T-shirts which are kind of use-and-throw products, and so we decided this time it has to be different and yet inexpensive." The I.Gen team designed a handy palm-top sized board game that candidates could carry even when they travelled. But it had to be designed and executed in just two days. The I.Gen team was excited because they believe in `more constraints, better ideas'. "I think the best ideas emerge when resources are limited," says Rajesh.

Set up about a year ago, I.Gen hit the road to success when Titan signed up the 10-people company to redesign an employee performance contest that was already running for its frontline sales staff across the country. The challenge was to win loyalty from staff employed at the franchised stores, especially faced with the new retail boom and the industry facing 70-80 per cent attrition among frontline staff. "You see, most of the sales staff at the stores are employed by the franchisee and the challenge was to prevent them from moving over to the next store for a couple of hundred bucks more." And so the `ideas company' I.Gen, still a toddler at that time, pitched in to take the contest to a `programme level.'

The "Face of Titan' contest assesses and recognises the performance of over 1,200 frontline staff employed in 214 stores across 113 cities. "During the Titan exercise we realised there was a dire need for ideas in the retail sector, especially in the areas of recruitment and engagement," says Rajesh. The entire assessment process was outsourced to I.Gen.

Mahesh Vorkady, who co-founded I.Gen with Rajesh, says they hired the services of 24 people who could speak regional languages so that the assessment process would be more comfortable for the candidates. The programme runs on customised software to ensure speed, accuracy, fairness and transparency in the evaluation process. This means Titan has real-time access to database, training need analysis, talent pool, store and staff performance card. The assessment also helps Titan weed out poor performers, perhaps place them in other roles and help in capability building. "So we are also into software development," smiles Rajesh.

Sandeep Kulhalli, Head - Retail Services Group, Titan Industries, says that this programme has helped the company curb attrition, especially among top performers, and the company also saw an increase in the average ticket size in stores by 35 per cent. Needless to say, this year too, the Vorkady brothers have been asked to continue with the project.

The next stop for I.Gen was Café Coffee Day, which required ideas for its induction programme. Here again, employee loyalty had to be won over as most outlets are franchised and like Titan, the frontline staff are employed by franchisees. Rajesh and his team produced an info booklet for the new recruits in the form of a comic book, but with real-life employees as characters in the story. "They speak to the newly-inducted staff about Café Coffee Day and how wonderful it is to work here, and so on," says Rajesh.

What's the road map for I.Gen? "We are there whenever companies need in-depth analysis and fervent ideation. We'll help companies identify new market opportunities and cultivate potential revenue streams for them," says Rajesh.